Or Forever Hold Your Peace
by GeorgiaBoy223
Summary: Rukia is getting married! But not everyone is happy... Based on Chapter 6 of Renji4eva's "There Was Once When"
1. A Beautiful Day

"…Or Forever Hold Your Peace"

A "Bleach" Fanfiction by GeorgiaBoy223

Disclaimers: "Bleach" is owned by Tite Kubo. "…Or Forever Hold Your Peace" is inspired by Chapter 6 (formerly Chapter 2) of the Bleach fanfiction "There Was Once When" by Renji4eva; Renji4eva is thanked for her cooperation and consultation, and if you're an IchiHime fan like we are, check her stories out! Cover art created and owned by UsaBerryHime.

Author's Note: The events of this fanfiction take place almost four years after the end of the "Lost Agent/Fullbringer" arc. The "Thousand Year Blood War/Wandenreich" arc never happened. This fic will be mostly using English terms and naming conventions, with Japanese terminology used for groups and items I don't know the English name for. Please do not be discouraged by the use of English terms.

It was a bright, beautiful spring day in Karakura, Japan. There was nary a cloud in the sky, the temperature was just right, and the town's citizenry were in cheery spirits. It was a perfect day to live in or visit Karakura Town, and an especially perfect day for a wedding. In fact, a wedding was taking place at a chapel not very far from Kisuke Urahara's shop.

This, however, was not an ordinary wedding. This was the "Kuchiki Wedding Event", and any uninvited guests were "forbidden," as the sign outside the chapel indicated to any attentive passerby.

This was the wedding celebrating Rukia Kuchiki's impending union to the man she loved most.

Among the attendees were a few humans, all of whom were very close to the couple. In addition, a majority of the guests were several high-ranking officers of Soul Society's Thirteen Court Guard Squads. Normally, such an event would only see the captain and lieutenant of one squad among the guests, but due to the high standing of the yet-to-be-wed couple, one of whom being the adopted sister of 6th Squad Captain Byakuya Kuchiki, and both having been involved in several recent events important to the integrity of both Soul Society and the World of the Living, several more officers were invited.

The chapel was a rather large but plain one, having been chosen as the hosting location of the wedding due to its size to accommodate the thirty-eight guests as well as its simple appearance, so as to keep any human authorities from becoming suspicious of the unusual appearance and behavior of the attendees. It was designed to have enough pews to hold up to eighty guests, which gave more than enough room to the attendees; there were sixteen pews in total, eight on each side, with each one capable of seating five average-sized people.

The arrangements had been made with the Karakura municipal government that a 'large group of out-of-towners' had scheduled the wedding at the chapel out of monetary concerns, as well as having their own private officiator; had they chosen to use one of the more extravagant and expensive chapels in the town, it would have drawn suspicion due to the little-known (in the human world) Kuchiki family, which had previously been recorded having made a small number of low expense purchases, having suddenly spent a shockingly large sum of money on a lavish wedding and reception. There was also the fear that the human national governments were becoming aware of spiritual beings, so there was a greater security need for a wedding that was as low-key as possible, while still maintaining the grandiose nature befitting the nuptial ceremony of a member of the Kuchiki clan. Normally, such things would not be problems, but Rukia had wanted her wedding to take place in the human world, so that the small number of her and her fiancé's human friends whom couldn't travel to Soul Society could attend.

The dress code for all the attendees was typical of a Western-style wedding, with the Soul Reapers using Urahara's gigais as well; although the dress code for a wedding among the Soul Reapers back in the Soul Society was the same as their standard uniform, it was common sense that, in the World of the Living, a large group of people in black and white kimonos with strange swords would attract unwanted attention.

At the altar was Ichigo Kurosaki, who was adjusting his tie and becoming increasingly annoyed, wishing that the wedding would be over with and he could go on with the rest of his life. Shinji Hirako was there too, wearing his trademark smug grin; he was, in addition to being the reinstated captain of the 5th Squad, the 'private officiator' of the wedding (God Himself only knew how he managed to convince Byakuya to give him that honor).

Facing the altar on the left side, Byakuya and two Kuchiki clan nobles occupied the front pew. Behind them sat Shunsui Kyoraku and Nanao Ise, the latter of whom was happily chatting with Lisa Yadomaru, whom occupied the next pew with Hiyori Sarugaki and Mashiro Kuna. Rose Otoribashi, Kensei Muguruma, and Love Aikawa were in the fourth pew. Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa were the only ones within the next pew, and were also the only ones in the pews surrounding the sixth pew. Kenpachi Zaraki and Yachiru Kusajishi were occupying that one, the former of the two looking very bored and irritated, both of which bode ill for anyone surrounding him after a time, and the latter happily kicking her legs back and forth. There was no one in the seventh pew, as noted before, and in the eighth and last pew were Joushiro Ukitake and Kiyone Kotetsu, the latter of whom was excited that her captain had invited her to come along with him instead of Sentaro.

On the right side, Kisuke Urahara, Yoruichi Shihoin, and Soi Fon sat in the front pew. Behind them were Uryu Ishida and Yasutora "Chad" Sado, both of whom were leaving an oddly generous empty space between each other as the former was sitting in the space at the entrance to the pew and the later sitting at the end; Uryu also had his white jacket placed neatly in the space next to him, signifying that he was reserving it for someone. In the third row were Orihime Inoue, who was unusually quiet and had a smile that seemed oddly subdued for her usually cheery demeanor, Tatsuki Arisawa, and Rangiku Matsumoto (who obviously wore the most revealing dress of all the attending women). Keigo Asano, Chizuru Honsho, and Mizuro Kojima occupied the next pew; the first two were gleefully ogling most of the Soul Reaper women while Mizuro was sending a text message to his latest girlfriend. In the fifth pew were Toshiro Hitsugaya and Momo Hinamori. In the sixth pew, sobbing rather loudly, was Ikumi Unagiya, Ichigo's former boss and still a close acquaintance of his, and her son Kaoru, who was becoming increasingly embarrassed by his mother's crying. Sitting behind them was Hachi Ushoda; being large enough to take up an entire pew all on his own, he was sitting separate from the rest of the Vizards. There was no one in the eighth pew.

In the foyer of the chapel was Rukia and her entourage. Her bridesmaids were Ichigo's sisters, Karin and Yuzu. Ururu Tsumugiya was her flower girl, and Jinta Hanakari was her ring bearer; many would argue that both were too old for their respective positions, but Rukia wanted them specifically for their tasks. Rukia was, curiously, currently very angry; those that could hear her in the main hall could make out very disparaging remarks about 'the dumbass' while a flustered Yuzu tried to calm her down.

Orihime was supposed to be the maid of honor, but had replied to Rukia via letter that she couldn't attend; apparently, the bakery where she was now assistant manager at had received an unusually large number of orders for the week of the wedding, and they needed as many of their employees as possible at work. However, the night before the wedding, Orihime had called Tatsuki and told her that several of the orders had been cancelled and her boss gave her leave to attend the wedding, but had also told her not to inform Rukia; she thought it would be 'in bad form' to suddenly show up and ask Rukia to accept her as maid of honor after she had initially turned her down. Rukia herself had seen Orihime sitting in the hall, and while one half of her mind was still busy cursing 'that idiot', the other half was surprised and disappointed that Orihime hadn't taken up her offer. Rukia wanted only her as maid of honor; she made the offer to no one else.

There were still a few guests coming in. Isshin Kurosaki had just sat down next to Urahara, having spent the last hour with Rukia's entourage ranting about how his daughters were the most beautiful bridesmaids Karakura Town had ever seen, before deciding it would be best to move to his reserved seat after an increasingly frustrated Rukia had threatened to throw a flower vase at him if he didn't shut up. Before he sat down, he gave a casual greeting to Kyoraku, after having already given his greetings to Ukitake, Toshiro, and Rangiku. When Soul Society began their inquiries into Ichigo's life, many of Isshin Shiba's friends and associates had been shocked to find that he was indeed still alive and living under his deceased wife's name. When they had come to help defend Karakura Town against Aizen's Arrancar, Toshiro and Rangiku had convinced the rest of their advance team to take an unorthodox entry into the Kurosaki household, unsure of how to confront their long-lost captain about his disappearance.

After returning to help Ichigo defeat Ginjo and his XCution, Toshiro decided it was time to stop skirting the issue, and he and Rangiku had a sit-down with Isshin, finally coming to terms with his decision to leave Soul Society to protect Masaki – for reasons that Ichigo himself was still unaware of. Several of Isshin's old friends tried to convince him to come back, with a letter of assurance from Head Captain Yamamoto himself that there were no ill-intentions to be had. They eventually accepted, however, that Isshin was not returning permanently, as he had set down roots in Karakura Town and had no intentions of forcing his family to give up their lives so he could relive "old glories." He did occasionally visit, though; his first such visit to Kukaku and Ganju began with Kukaku punching his head into the ground, furious that it "took him so long to come back." The trio, plus Ichigo, were on good terms nonetheless, although Ichigo and Ganju dreaded the reality that they were related.

Retsu Unohana, captain of the 4th Squad, and her lieutenant, Isane Kotetsu, were walking down the aisle together until they separated to take their respective seats. To the surprise of many, Unohana sat next to a still irritated Kenpachi, who only nodded his head in acknowledgement of her; he didn't want to come to the wedding, having little interest in anything other than fighting – but Yachiru did, and he couldn't refuse her, bringing along Ikkaku and Yumichika as well. If something didn't happen soon, though, his impatience and boredom would explode in a violent tornado of sword strikes aimed towards anyone he considered worth his time as an opponent.

Isane took her seat in the empty space next to Chad, her boyfriend. After the humans and the Soul Reapers resumed regular contact, visits to the 4th Squad's barracks were some of the most common, especially whenever some new spiritually-aware madman had decided it was time to "take over the human world and/or Soul Society." As a result, Chad and Isane began spending more time together, learning that many of their interests were similar. Their relationship wasn't a "love at first sight" deal, but as time went on, they became closer, and they were in each other's arms before they knew what was happening. Chad smiled at Isane, who blushed and smiled back before turning her head away in shyness. Turning her attention to her captain, Isane saw Unohana smile at her in approval; most of the members of the Women's Association were glad that she was coming out of her shell and had finally gotten a boyfriend. Turning her attention further back towards her sister, she saw Kiyone grin at her and give her a thumbs up.

What Kiyone did next, however, left Isane nonplussed. She saw her younger sister's eyes turn slightly towards the entrance of the chapel and watched as Kiyone grimaced in shock. Looking towards the entrance, Isane felt her blood turn cold. Walking into the main hall of the chapel was none other than Nemu Kurotsuchi, lieutenant and artificially created daughter of 12th Squad Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Isane's eyes darted all about the chapel as she tried sensing Mayuri's spirit pressure to see if the insane scientist was hiding anywhere, but to her surprise, she couldn't see or feel him anywhere.

"_What's Nemu doing here?"_ Isane thought to herself, sweat starting to roll down her forehead as Nemu walked closer to her pew, the cloned lieutenant's emotionless green eyes and expressionless face giving no hint to her intentions. _"Does she even have any interest in events like this… or has Captain Kurotsuchi planned something?!"_ Isane began thinking of anything that Mayuri could have planned for the wedding, from instructing Nemu to spike the sake at the reception with poison or nanomachines, to implanting a bomb in Nemu that he could use to "take out the competition."

The truth, however, was more mundane than what Isane was thinking. Nemu really did want to attend the wedding of her own volition, Rukia said she could come, and Mayuri had given her leave to attend. Before anyone takes that as an indication that Mayuri was beginning to soften up, it sadly isn't; Mayuri simply had no need for Nemu in any of his experiments on the wedding day, and if he _did_ have need of her, he would've beaten her senseless for "daring to suggest that her time was more valuable than his."

Isane felt her blood completely freeze as Nemu stopped at the entrance to the pew, her green eyes fixated on Uryu. To Isane's ever-worsening horror, he picked up his jacket and motioned for Nemu to sit next to him. Isane edged closer to Chad as Nemu took the offered seat, her wariness growing as she continued to wonder at her colleague's intentions; Chad, on the other hand, realized what was going on, and his surprised expression turned into a smile.

"_So that's why everyone's been seeing you around the 12__th__ Squad's barracks so often recently."_ Chad thought to himself, his fears that Uryu had been planning some kind of revenge against Mayuri being put to rest. _"Well done, Uryu."_

The tall half-Mexican man gave his friend a thumbs-up in approval, which Uryu appreciated with a smile. He turned his attention to Nemu, his unexpected girlfriend returning his affection with a smile of her own.

Unfortunately, Isane saw the corner of Nemu's mouth turn up and shrieked in terror, jumping back onto Chad and drawing the attention of most of the chapel. Uryu glared at her in annoyance, while Nemu simply observed her with her usual neutral expression for a moment before turning her attention back to her boyfriend. Chad simply gave Uryu an apologetic shrug. Isane wasn't the only one who behaved "inappropriately"; Rangiku interrupted her conversation with Tatsuki to inhale sharply and lean back in her seat, also expecting Nemu to do something "volatile", and Kiyone was shaking in fear.

The chapel went back to its previous state of affairs quickly enough after Isane's outburst. Nanao and Lisa went back to talking about what they had been doing since their last visit. Shortly after Ginjo's defeat, Nanao took it upon herself to go to the human world and see if Lisa remembered her; to her delight, her predecessor as Kyoraku's lieutenant hadn't forgotten about her, and was proud that she had advanced as far as she did in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. They maintained regular contact since then, rekindling their lost friendship. To see Nanao right now would leave many who only knew of her in shock: the usually strict and unsocial lieutenant was beaming with energy, eyes and smile wide as she and Lisa talked about a funny incident from the old days. Kyoraku, meanwhile, was smiling at his former and current lieutenants, glad that the two old friends were able to see each other again.

Now, if only he could stop thinking about the two of them in bed together…

Not everyone in Lisa and Nanao's immediate vicinity were happy, however. To Lisa's left, Hiyori was looking rather angry, her eyes set in their usual indignant glare and her arms crossed over her chest. She was dressed in a fashion that no one would ever expect the former lieutenant to allow herself be caught dead in: she was wearing a yellow sundress with white polka dots, and her pigtails were bound by large pink bows. Hiyori didn't want to come to the wedding, but Lisa and Mashiro blackmailed her into coming by telling her that they had taken photos of her sleeping with her sleep aid: a pink toy elephant she named "Mr. Trunk." She had activated her Hollow mask and threatened to rip both of them to shreds if they didn't give her the photos, but they told her that they had already sent the photos to a trusted source in the Soul Society (most likely either Shinji or Rangiku), and that they would be published in the paper in the event of their deaths.

So, here Hiyori was, looking exceptionally cross and having Mashiro sitting right next to her and laughing at her misfortune.

Rangiku had calmed down enough by now that she resumed her conversation with Tatsuki. One of the side benefits of Soul Society resuming contact with Ichigo's group was that the Soul Reapers they had befriended were spending much more time with them than even when they were fighting against Aizen. Rangiku and Tatsuki in particular had become very good friends due to their own mutual friendship with Orihime; the trio had been spending a lot of their free time together, becoming that one group of girlfriends that all the boys paid very close attention to when they were out and about.

When they received news that Rukia was getting married and that they were invited to the wedding, both Rangiku and Tatsuki were overjoyed for her. They both knew that Rukia had been crushing on her groom for a long time, and they were glad that they were finally tying the knot. They became even more excited when Rukia told them she had offered the position of maid of honor to Orihime; in their eyes, there was no one better suited for the task than Rukia's closest human girlfriend.

Understandably, all three were disappointed when Orihime politely refused but accepted that she didn't have a lot of choice in the matter. Rangiku was thus in for a delightful surprise when Tatsuki showed up with Orihime in tow; she was confused, however, when Orihime told her she wasn't going to ask Rukia to accept her as maid of honor. They had made their way to their pew, and Rangiku and Tatsuki started their conversation, their confusion at Orihime's uncharacteristically subdued behavior growing as she hadn't joined them in talking about the latest movie that they had watched together.

Finally, their curiosity got the better of them and they asked her why she wasn't happier.

"Oh! Nothing's wrong." The orange-haired beauty had replied, smiling at her friends. "I just had a really bad dream about the little blue men last night, and I haven't gotten over it. I really am glad for Rukia! She's the luckiest girl in the world right now!" Then, confusing her friends even more, Orihime looked away towards the altar and said "She really is the luckiest girl…"

Rangiku and Tatsuki looked at each other, concerned about their friend. They turned their attention back to Orihime, and were about to press her for the truth when the volume of the wedding music increased significantly, signifying that the bride was about to enter.

Many of the guests marveled at how beautiful Rukia was. Her dress was hand-stitched by some of the best tailors in the Rukongai, and she carried herself with the grace and dignity as expected of a Kuchiki princess. She walked down the aisle unescorted; it was a Soul Reaper tradition for brides to walk themselves to the altar, showing the world that they were more than strong enough to live their own lives, and to make their own choices as they saw fit. In front of her was Ururu and Jinta, the latter of the two being very glad that he didn't have to walk behind Yuzu, having worried that he wouldn't be able to stop himself from staring inappropriately at her. Behind her was Yuzu and Karin; Byakuya had offered to order a dozen of the finest handmaidens of the Kuchiki clan to be Rukia's bridesmaids, but she insisted that the Kurosaki sisters were the ones she wanted.

As the entourage passed Toshiro and Momo's pew, the latter of the two noticed that an interesting expression had suddenly appeared on her childhood friend's face. Noticing that his attention was on Karin, she giggled.

"_So, you're interested in your old captain's little girl, eh, Toshiro?"_ Momo thought to herself as her amusement at his expression grew. Toshiro gave her a look that had "shut up" written all over it, but it did nothing to deter her.

Finally, the entourage reached the altar and took their respective positions. It was here that the wedding seemed to pause for a moment, as Shinji wasn't giving his speech as officiator. Some of the more impatient members of the audience were starting to seem antsy, irritated that the wedding was dragging on. Ichigo and Rukia took this opportunity to smile at each other warmly, both wishing that the ceremony would end soon and they could get on with the rest of their lives.

Looking at his watch, Shinji said, "Well, we're a bit behind schedule, so let's get this out of the way." Grinning as he turned his attention back to the audience, he continued, "If anybody has a reason that these two not be wed…" He held his hand to the side in an inviting manner as he finished, "… then speak now."

It was a rather poor attempt at a joke, but many members of the audience laughed anyway, as it cut through the tension that had been building up. Even Hiyori snickered a little, having grown accustomed to her fellow Vizard's sense of humor.

Not everyone was amused, however. Unohana stopped chuckling when she heard Kenpachi begin to growl. Turning her attention to her companion, a feeling of deep worry washed over her as she watched his all too familiar psychopathic grin begin to stretch across his face, his free eye narrowing at the group at the altar. Unohana knew that if something didn't happen soon, this day of bliss would soon turn into a day of bloodshed.

Ichigo and Rukia weren't amused either, and neither were the other members of Rukia's entourage. Ichigo glared at Shinji as Rukia let out a sigh of frustration. Finding their reactions funny, Shinji chuckled as he closed his eyes and shrugged. He opened his eyes as he put his hands behind his back, satisfied that he got some appreciation for his humor as he listened to the light laughter.

What Shinji did next, though, caused Ichigo, Rukia, and the procession members to completely forget their frustration at him, which was replaced with confusion. Shinji's grin disappeared from his face as his eyes widened in surprise, their focus suddenly fixated on one area of the chapel. Turning their attention to where Shinji was looking, they were similarly dumbfounded by what they saw.

The aura of confusion that had started at the altar spread throughout the chapel, and gradually everyone turned their attention to where Ichigo, Rukia, Shinji and the others were staring at. Ikumi stopped crying, her tearful joy at the ceremony completely replaced by bewilderment, and even Kenpachi stopped growling as his grin receded and his eye returned to its usual state as he was struck by the same confusion that had overtaken everyone else.

The only one who had yet to be taken by the new mood in the chapel was Mashiro, who was still laughing like a hyena at Shinji's joke – she had a weird sense of humor. She was brought out of her laughing spell by an annoyed Hiyori, who gave the green-haired girl a rather hard punch to the stomach. Mashiro glared at Hiyori, angrily yelling "HEY!" at her compatriot before her curiosity was aroused by the blonde Vizard pointing at something on the other side of the chapel. Mashiro forgot her anger as she and Hiyori turned their attention to the person of everybody's interest.

Orihime Inoue stood alone, her arms slumped at her side and her head tilted towards the floor, preventing most people from seeing her face. She wasn't doing or saying anything, giving no reason whatsoever for her action.

When Orihime turned her head up, everyone who could see her face were shocked to see that she had been crying, with her eyes slightly red and tears still flowing down her cheeks. She stared at the altar, still not saying anything. To everyone around her, she looked like a woman who had fought against the world, and failed miserably.

Ichigo finally brought himself to mutter her name, "Orihime…?" Normally, no one would be able to hear him at the volume he spoke, but with the chapel as quiet as it was, everyone could hear him as if he had just shouted Orihime's name instead of whispering it.

Orihime finally spoke, "Rukia… please forgive me." Her tone was flat and had a hint of despair behind it, which surprised those who knew her to be a cheery and upbeat girl.

Byakuya arched one of his eyebrows as he thought to himself, _"Forgive you for what?"_

Rukia herself blinked twice in confusion. She said, "What?" but Orihime didn't answer her. She didn't even seem to notice that Rukia had said anything.

"Ichigo…" Orihime said as a fresh stream of tears came down her cheeks, "… I love you."

TO BE CONTINUED


	2. I Love You

"…Or Forever Hold Your Peace" Chapter 2

Author's Note: I'd like to thank mayu87, Unwavering Heart, sheblunar, Tahaku, narusaku143, and Clninja96 for following my first fanfic, and to Saint Sita, blackroserocker, and narusaku143 for reviewing it! Sorry about the delay; I've been busy with work.

Caution: This chapter will contain angst, but not enough that I would think appropriate for putting the overall work under that category.

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><p>Orihime was miserable. She was at a wedding – Ichigo's wedding, in fact. And she wasn't the bride.<p>

Ichigo Kurosaki, the man she had sworn to love for five lifetimes, was getting married to one of her best friends – Rukia Kuchiki, the woman that Orihime knew in her heart that Ichigo had loved for years.

And she had a front row seat to it all. She would rather die than bear witness to what was going to happen in front of her eyes in a few minutes, but here she was anyway.

In spite of Orihime's misery, though, she smiled as best as she could, not wanting to have anybody worry about her or think she didn't approve of her beloved's impending union. She had thought that, after she had learned about the wedding, her friends would be there to comfort her and offer her reassurance that she would find happiness again… but to her dismay, all of them were overjoyed that Ichigo wanted to spend the rest of eternity with Rukia. Even Tatsuki, Rangiku, Chad, and Uryu, all of whom she had confided with her feelings for Ichigo, had stated that they were glad that Rukia was "finally" getting married to the man she had "loved for so long." So, ever since she had received Rukia's invitation letter, she stayed silent, pretending to be happy for her friends' sake.

To Orihime's confusion, she could hear Rukia shouting in the chapel's foyer, calling someone a "dumbass" and saying things like "he is so not getting away with this." Orihime couldn't think of a reason why Rukia was so upset; if anything, she should be overjoyed that she was getting married to the man she loved.

Turning her attention to Ichigo, Orihime let out a quiet sigh. He looked so handsome in his grey suit and blue tie… but then again, he was always handsome to her, no matter what he was wearing. Ichigo was currently adjusting his tie, an irritated expression on his face making it clear he was uncomfortable with the way he was wearing it.

"_Oh, Ichigo…"_ Orihime thought to herself, still wishing that she would be the one walking down the aisle in a few minutes. _"If you would let me adjust your tie for you and smooth out your brow, you'd be as happy as you should be on your special day…"_ Her smile widened a little, some sincerity inserting itself in her expression, then receded back to its former size as her thoughts continued, _"… but I can't do that. I'm not the one who has the right to make you happy… I never was."_

Orihime watched as Isane sat next to Chad, the pair smiling at each other; the orange-haired healer was glad for them, but felt jealous that she couldn't have that happiness with Ichigo. Almost a minute later, Nemu sat next to Uryu. Isane seemed scared of Mayuri's lieutenant for some reason, but Orihime was glad for her and her Quincy friend; she had known for a few months that they were seeing each other in secret, and it seemed like they were using the wedding to make their relationship public. Still, like with Chad and Isane, she couldn't help but be jealous at them, though she still showed no hint of it.

Orihime wished she was that brave, to tell Ichigo and the rest of the world how she felt… but to do that here, when he was about to be wed to his true beloved? That would be the most selfish thing to do, to tell someone that you loved them more than the one that they wanted to be with forever.

She couldn't help but think back to when she first learned about the wedding, back to when all her dreams had been broken into pieces…

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><p><em>It had been a surprisingly quiet day at the bakery. When Orihime became assistant manager almost a year before, business had dropped when some of her culinary creations were put on the menu, but then had skyrocketed when customers discovered that many of her unappealing-looking treats turned out to be some of the best food they had ever eaten. That day, however, there hadn't been many customers visiting – maybe it was the virus that had been going through Karakura's prefecture for the last week.<em>

_Regardless, Orihime didn't mind. She and many of her friends had been partying the night before, celebrating Tatsuki's acceptance into the Japanese Olympic team for karate. It hadn't been much of a surprise – Tatsuki _had _just been declared the national female karate champion, but it was cause for celebration nonetheless. There wasn't any alcohol at the party, but it did last until midnight, well past the time Orihime was used to getting into bed. She had worried that she wouldn't be able to work as hard as she needed to, but the extra time given by the lax patronage had given her ample opportunity to rest, giving her the energy to continue working the rest of the day._

_Orihime had just arrived at her apartment complex and was looking through the inventory of her mailbox. Most of it was junk mail, but a pink envelope with Urahara's shop's address caught her attention._

_Looking at the back of the envelope, Orihime's eyes lit up with delight when she saw her friend's name written above the Kuchiki clan wax seal._

"_It's from Rukia!" Orihime said to herself. While that was obvious, it had been almost a month since she had seen her friend. Ichigo, on the other hand, had been going to the Soul Society at least once a week ever since he regained his Soul Reaper powers._

_Orihime walked into her apartment, turned on the lights, and closed the door behind her, turning its lock into place. Giggling to herself, she wondered what Rukia had written to her about. Was her diminutive friend simply writing to her to see how she was doing? Maybe Captain Kurotsuchi had discovered that the little blue men existed after all?_

_Orihime walked to her couch, placing the junk mail on her coffee table. Not yet sitting down, the orange-haired beauty opened the pink envelope, taking out a finely-embroidered letter. She began to read it, her curiosity at the occasion reaching its peak._

"Dear Orihime,

It's happening. It's really happening. I'm getting married. To him. I couldn't believe it when he proposed. God, I've liked him for ages and it literally took him years to finally realize. You know how thick-headed and dense that idiot is! I accepted, of course. Even with that stupid bright hair of his, he's so handsome…

I'd love for you to be my maid of honor. Let me know.

Hugs and Chappies!

Rukia"

_Orihime's mind went blank. Eyes widening in shock, she re-read the letter, and then again. And again, and again, and again._

"_No…" She muttered to herself, then suddenly said aloud, "No!"_

_Orihime fell back onto her couch, having lost control of her legs and feeling nauseous. She read the letter one last time, each word seemingly jumping out at her, confirming her worst fear._

_Rukia was marrying Ichigo._

_Her eyes stung as she began to cry, some of her tears falling on the letter. _

_The letter that ended all of her dreams of being with her beloved Ichigo._

_Orihime didn't know how long she had been crying before her phone began to ring. She didn't answer it, too tired and weak from her misery to get up from the coach and pick her phone up from the coffee table. When it stopped ringing, it played the pre-recorded message telling her she had a voicemail. After a half hour later, she had eventually stopped crying and stood up enough to reach over and picked it up, sitting back down on the couch and pressing the appropriate icons to reach her voicemail log. _

_Orihime saw that the call had been from Tatsuki. She wondered why her best friend had called her. Pressing the "play voicemail" button, she put her phone to her ear._

"_Hey, Orihime!" The beauty heard Tatsuki's voice on the phone, her best friend sounding very excited about something. "Did you get your letter? Rukia's getting married! Isn't that great?"_

_Orihime's heart skipped a beat in shock._

"_She said that she asked you to be the maid of honor!" Her best friend's voice continued, the excited tone in her voice growing. "That was nice of her, don't you think? I hope you're going to accept. I can't think of anyone better for the job! Talk to you later!"_

_Orihime's hand began to shake from the shock, her phone falling from it and onto the couch. She brought both of her hands to her mouth as she began sobbing._

"Tatsuki… Tatsuki's happy that Rukia's marrying Ichigo?" _Orihime thought, her horror at the situation growing._ "Why?! I told her how I felt…"

_Orihime had told Tatsuki and Rangiku that she loved Ichigo during one of their outings a few months before, and to her surprise, they had told her that they had known for "a long time." Her friends had encouraged her to tell him, but eventually relented after she had repeatedly asserted that she didn't want to do so yet. Shortly thereafter, she told Uryu and Chad, as well – they replied the same as Tatsuki and Rangiku did. Chad had been very enthusiastic in encouraging her to tell Ichigo, having just started his relationship with Isane; Uryu had been less keen in his encouragement, but had given her some tips on how she could tell him, claiming that he learned them from a psychology book's section on romance. Orihime understood now how he truly knew those tips, but…_

…_it didn't matter, none of her friends seemed to care anymore._

_She had called Uryu and Chad when she gained control of herself again. Both of them had said they were glad for Rukia and her "lucky man."_

_None of her friends cared…_

_Later that night, Orihime was in her bed, crying into her pillow. Her Shun Shun Rikka were around her, trying to comfort her to no avail. They were all saddened by their master's state; even the normally energetic Shuno, Lily, and Hinagiku were depressed. Tsubaki, meanwhile, was absolutely livid; most of what he said was to himself, swearing that if he ever saw Ichigo again, he would rip the Substitute Soul Reaper to pieces – not that that would ever happen, his ability to use his power controlled by Orihime._

"_That damn, good-for-nothing Ichigo!" Tsubaki growled, his tiny fists clenched and shaking. "That _dumbass _is a damn fool for-"_

"_Tsubaki!" Ayame shouted, the usually quiet and reserved spirit having become fed up with Tsubaki's ranting. "That is enough! You will stop saying such foul things about Ichigo immediately!"_

"_Why?! Why should I _not _give that idiot's name a good cussing out?!" Tsubaki shouted, hovering closer to Ayame. "Don't you see that Orihime's miserable because of that fool and that midget he's marrying?"_

"_Tsubaki, Ichigo is still important to Orihime!" Shuno said, joining in. "You don't have the right to-"_

"_Don't tell me you're protecting that idiot, too!" Tsubaki shouted, glaring at his compatriot. "Orihime's loved him for years, and all this time, he's been too stupid to figure it out! If Tatsuki, Uryu, Chad, and Rangiku could figure it out no problem, what's his excuse?!"_

"_He probably doesn't understand love enough to-"_

"_It seems to me he understands it enough to think that his Soul Reaper girlfriend is better for him than Orihime!" Tsubaki snarled, his anger growing. "And stop protecting him! I know you're just as pissed at him as I am!"_

"_I am!" Shuno shouted at Tsubaki as she closed the distance between the two of them. "I want to rip his head off myself! But I can't do that! Orihime would never allow it!"_

"_She should!" Lily yelled, hovering closer to Tsubaki, Shuno, and Ayame. Baigon and Hinagiku followed her. "She should use us and-"_

"_THAT IS ENOUGH!"_

_All of the spirits stared at Orihime in shock, their master sitting upright and glaring at them. They had never heard her yell that loud before._

"_Ichigo and Rukia love each other." Orihime said, her glare firm at her Shun Shun Rikka. "I've known that for years. Having it spelled out for me doesn't matter." She looked down into her lap. "I'm happy for them."_

_The spirits looked at each other, unconvinced. Orihime certainly didn't _sound _happy._

"_Orihime…" Shuno said quietly, hovering up to her master's right, placing her small hands on Orihime's shoulder. Ayame copied Shuno's actions. "We know that's not true. You've wanted to be with Ichigo for years. It's okay to be upset…"_

"_No, Shuno, it's not." Orihime said, turning her head to look at the blond spirit. "It's selfish to be mad at Rukia. And I'm not mad at Ichigo for wanting to be with her."_

"_Stop worrying about whether or not something's selfish!" Tsubaki said, hovering in front of Orihime's face._

"_Then what should I do, Tsubaki?" Orihime said to her spirit. "Call Ichigo and Rukia vile names for wanting to be together? Act like a spoiled child since I didn't get what I wanted? I had so many opportunities to tell Ichigo how I feel, and I wasted every single one of them!" The anger in her voice was rising, but the Shun Shun Rikka knew somehow that she wasn't angry at Tsubaki or her friends._

"_Orihime, you still have time." Ayame said. "You can tell Ichigo how you feel, he might feel the same about you, call off the wedding…"_

"_And spend the rest of my life with Rukia and the others hating me for taking Ichigo away from her, like some… some…" Orihime couldn't bear to refer to herself by her mother's profession. "No. I'll be happy for them, like a good friend should."_

_Orihime laid her head back down on her pillow, closing her eyes as she began to sob again. The Shun Shun Rikka knew that it was pointless to continue arguing with her, so they quietly returned to her hairpins when she ordered them to._

_Orihime called in sick the next morning, explaining to her boss that she had been feeling weak since the night before, possibly having caught the virus that had been going around from a customer that had been sneezing. Her manager didn't question her, having seen the customer Orihime described herself, so she recommended that Orihime go to a clinic and then immediately return home and rest._

_Orihime instead took the time to work out her response letter to Rukia. By two o'clock in the afternoon, she had finished it._

"Dear Rukia,

I'm so glad that you're getting married! Unfortunately, I will be unable to attend the wedding. The bakery has received several orders for the week of the wedding, and my boss has said we will need as many employees as possible to be at work.

I hope you're not upset, and I wish you and your fiancé all the happiness in the World of the Living and Soul Society.

Orihime"

_Orihime waited until the day after the next, one of her off days, to take her letter to Urahara's. The shopkeeper was surprised to learn that she wouldn't be at the wedding, but accepted her reason._

"_It's such a shame, though, my dear Orihime." Urahara had said, folding his fan. "You would've been the loveliest maid of honor in Karakura Town." Tessai and Ururu had nodded in agreement, Jinta didn't seem to care much, and Yoruichi was away dealing with some business in the Soul Society, so obviously she couldn't give her opinion._

_Orihime politely smiled and agreed with the first three, then left. She received Rukia's response the next day._

"Hey Orihime,

Fine, I understand, you don't _have_ to come. It's alright if you can't.

Rukia"

_In spite of everything, though, the next day Orihime asked her boss if she could have a day off for the wedding. There was a voice in the back of her head that had been telling her to go, to see the truth for herself. She had hoped that her boss would tell her no, but she had delightedly told Orihime she could have the day off, and to give her regards to the bride and groom._

_Three weeks went by, and then the night before the wedding, Orihime called Tatsuki, telling her that she was going to attend._

"_That's wonderful, Orihime!" Tatsuki had said, unable to contain her excitement. "Rukia will be so happy! You'll get to be the maid of honor, and-"_

"_No, Tatsuki, I'm not."_

"_What? Why?" Tatsuki's confusion and dismay was painfully obvious._

"_It would be in bad form for me to show up with barely any notice and ask Rukia to accept me as maid of honor, Tatsuki." Orihime explained, saddened that she was lying to her best friend. "I'm sure she's gotten someone else, and I don't want to take that away from them."_

"_Oh. Okay then, Orihime, if that's what you want to do."_

"_It is. Can you come by my apartment tomorrow at eleven, and then we'll go to the chapel together?"_

"_Alright." Tatsuki said. Orihime thought she heard a tone of disappointment in the karate champion's voice. "I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Orihime"_

"_Goodnight, Tatsuki."_

_Tatsuki came the next morning at eleven, as Orihime had asked. She was wearing a purple dress that reached to her thighs and had narrow black shoulder straps, and had straightened her hair for the event. Orihime had put on a blue dress that reached to her knees with wide white shoulder straps. Tatsuki tried to convince Orihime to ask Rukia about being the maid of honor one last time, but gave up when she told her no once again._

_They left Orihime's apartment and went to the chapel. When they arrived, they saw that many of their friends, both human and Soul Reaper, had arrived before them. Several of them were surprised to see Orihime with Tatsuki._

"_Orihime! Tatsuki! You've made it!"_

_Both girls turned their attention to where they heard the voice come from. They saw Rangiku running towards them, waving one hand above her head excitedly. To their shock, she was wearing a shiny red mini-dress; such an outfit was inappropriate for a guest to wear to a wedding, but it was impossible to convince the 10__th__ Squad's lieutenant of that._

_Rangiku stopped a few feet in front of Orihime and Tatsuki, a confused expression suddenly appearing on her face._

"_Wait, Orihime?" Rangiku said, blinking twice in surprise. Her eyes then lit up and her smile returned. "Orihime, you're here!" The buxom Soul Reaper hugged her human friend, saying, "I thought you couldn't come because of your job!"_

"_Rangiku… I…" Orihime struggled to speak, Rangiku's tight hug squeezing the air out of her. Fortunately, the lieutenant noticed her friend's trouble and let her go._

_As Orihime was recovering her breath, Tatsuki spoke for her. "A bunch of the orders at the bakery were cancelled." Tatsuki explained. "Her boss gave her the day off."_

_Rangiku clapped her hands together. "Yes! That's wonderful!" She cheered. "Now you can be the maid of honor, and-"_

"_No, I'm not."_

_Rangiku stared at Orihime, shocked by her sudden declaration._

"_What? Orihime, why? Rukia wanted you to be the maid of honor!"_

"_I just can't do it, Rangiku." Orihime replied, her expression sad. "It would be in bad form for me to just go up to Rukia and ask her if I could be the maid of honor after I told her I couldn't come. Besides, she's probably got Momo or someone else to be-"_

"_She hasn't asked anyone else, Orihime."_

_Orihime blinked twice at her Soul Reaper friend. "What?" She asked, not fully understanding what Rangiku just said. "What do you mean?"_

"_Rukia only wanted you as maid of honor, Orihime." Rangiku told her, the 10__th__'s lieutenant dropping her former cheerful expression. "She was so disappointed when she got your letter. She said that if you weren't going to be the maid of honor, then she wasn't going to have one."_

"_I… But…" Orihime stammered, unable to say anything coherent._

"Rukia wanted just me? Why?" She wondered to herself.

"_Why…"_

"_Orihime Inoue." A deep voice suddenly arose behind Orihime and Tatsuki. Both girls, plus Rangiku, turned their attention to the owner of the voice. To their surprise, it belonged to none other than Byakuya Kuchiki, the head of the Kuchiki clan and Rukia's older brother. With him were a man and a woman, both of them nobles of the Kuchiki clan. All three had their focus solely on Orihime, with Byakuya glaring at her._

"_Why are you here?" The 6__th__ Squad's captain asked the young woman. "You told Rukia you couldn't attend."_

"_Oh! Byakuya!" Orihime said. Both of the Kuchiki nobles glowered at her for using Byakuya's name informally. "I… My boss told me yesterday that most of the orders at the bakery were cancelled, and that I could come to the wedding."_

_While the nobles maintained their indignant glares, Byakuya's expression completely lost its edge._

"_I see." The Kuchiki clan leader said. "Will you be Rukia's maid of honor, then?"_

"_I'm afraid I can't." Orihime responded, desperate to hide the pain she was feeling from what everyone seemed to expect from her. "It would be rude to ask Rukia after I've already turned her down."_

_Byakuya studied the healer for a moment, seemingly disappointed by her answer, then said "It can't be helped, I suppose." He walked off, the nobles on his heels. "Please enjoy the wedding, regardless." He said over his shoulder._

_Orihime, Tatsuki, and Rangiku watched Byakuya and the nobles walk away, before Rangiku and Tatsuki turned their attention back to their friend._

"_Are you sure about this, Orihime?" Tatsuki asked._

_Orihime cleared her throat before answering, "I am." Her tone was firm, indicating that she wasn't going to argue anymore._

_Seeing as how Orihime seemed resolute in her decision, Tatsuki and Rangiku dropped the subject._

"_Ah, well." Rangiku said. Her expression lightened up as her smile returned to her face. "Oh! I forgot to mention that they've got some of the Kuchiki reserves at the reception."_

_Turning her attention to Rangiku, Tatsuki asked, "What reserves?"_

"_Sake, of course!" Rangiku answered. She then rubbed her hands together as she began to drool. "Those bottles aren't any of that common bar crap in the Soul Society, either! They've been handled by the best brewers in the Rukongai!" Giggling for a moment, she continued, "I can't wait!"_

_Tatsuki shook her head in amused disbelief, while Orihime simply smiled at her friend. Excusing herself, she went off and into the crowd._

_Giving her greetings to her friends and acquaintances and receiving theirs in return, Orihime engaged in conversation with some of them. Many of them asked her the same question that Tatsuki, Rangiku, and Byakuya had asked, and she gave them the same response._

_Eventually, she found herself talking with Nanao and Momo._

"_Rukia's so lucky, isn't she?" Momo said a few minutes into the conversation. "Even Tier Harribel sent her regards."_

_That surprised Orihime, but not too much. When the Soul Reapers and the humans began interacting again, she learned that the captains held a meeting concerning the surviving Arrancar in Hueco Mundo not long after the battle with Aizen and his Espada. They had considered invading the realm and "pacifying" it, but Tier Harribel and her Fraccion – Emilou Apacci, Franceska Mila Rose, and Cyan Sung-Sun – had appeared before the assembled Soul Reapers._

_Normally, the captains would've attacked such intruders immediately, but Tier had asked for parley before they could act, and to the surprise of all, Yamamoto had declared that he would listen. The former Tres Espada told Yamamoto that she would assume leadership of Hueco Mundo. She assured the Head Captain that she would maintain order over the realm, and also that she had no interest whatsoever in avenging Aizen; any Arrancar that wanted to avenge him would be dealt with by her personally. Yamamoto accepted this, telling Tier that Soul Society would not interfere in Hueco Mundo's affairs so long as she kept the peace, surprising those who thought he would attack her after she was done speaking._

_Soul Society and Hueco Mundo kept a tense but welcome peace since then. Only a week before the wedding, an Arrancar had appeared in Soul Society under a banner of peace, giving Rukia Tier's congratulations on her impending union._

"_Even our former enemy has given Rukia her blessing." Orihime said, her tone cheerful and approving, when the news had truthfully worsened her inner turmoil._

"_Indeed." Nanao said, adjusting her glasses. "It was unexpected of Tier Harribel to approve of Lieutenant Kuchiki's marriage."_

"_Come on Nanao, you know that Rukia wants to be called by her first name." Momo said, clearly frustrated with her fellow lieutenant's insistence on propriety._

"_Regardless, I – LISA!" Nanao suddenly shouted, her eyes and smile stretching wide as she saw her friend arrive with the rest of the Vizards who had opted to stay in the World of the Living. She ran past Orihime and Momo towards her old friend, waving her arms and laughing hysterically._

"_She's lightened up a lot since she started visiting Lisa." Momo said, smiling at the sight. "Just yesterday, she caught Captain Kyoraku drinking when he was supposed to be doing paperwork, and she didn't even take his sake away. She just scolded him!"_

"_Yeah, it's great." Orihime said, her voice wavering._

_Momo noticed this. "Orihime, are you okay?"_

_Surprised by Momo's question, Orihime blinked before answering, "Oh! Yes, yes." She nodded her head. "I'm fine."_

_Momo didn't look convinced. "If you say so." She said regardless._

"_Orihime!"_

_Both women heard Tatsuki call Orihime's name. They turned their attention to the karate champion and Rangiku, both of whom were approaching their friend together._

"_We should go find our seats. It's almost time for the wedding to begin!" Tatsuki said._

"_Alright then." Orihime replied, smiling at her best friend._

"_I should find Toshiro, too." Momo said, politely waving as she walked away._

_The trio of friends walked into the chapel, Tatsuki and Rangiku talking about the superhero movie they saw a month before…_

* * *

><p>"Orihime?"<p>

Orihime was snapped out of her daze by her best friend's voice. Turning her head to the right, she saw her friends looking at her with concern.

"Orihime, what's wrong?" Rangiku asked. "We thought you'd be happier, but you've been acting weird this whole time."

"Did something happen, Orihime?" Tatsuki asked, her eyes narrowing at the orange-haired beauty; if anything was troubling her best friend, she wanted to know.

Orihime said nothing nor gave any expression that indicated her true feelings. She desperately thought of an excuse to give her friends, not wanting them to know that she didn't want Rukia to marry Ichigo.

"Oh! Nothing's wrong." She said at last, smiling at Tatsuki and Rangiku. "I just had a really bad dream about the little blue men last night, and I haven't gotten over it. I really am glad for Rukia! She's the luckiest girl in the world right now!"

Orihime turned her attention back to the altar. Ichigo was still there.

Ichigo, the one who had saved her and Tatsuki from Acid Wire, the corrupted form of her brother. Ichigo, the one who had saved Rukia from her unjust execution. Ichigo, the one who had defeated the treacherous Aizen and Ginjo. Ichigo, the man she loved with all her being… and whom didn't love her.

"She really is the luckiest girl…"

Orihime wished she hadn't said that. Even she noticed that her tone had slipped and held some grief in it. She tensed up as she heard Tatsuki's voice.

"Orihime…"

Before Tatsuki could say anything else, however, the volume of the wedding music rose significantly.

Orihime, along with everyone else, turned her attention to the entrance of the chapel as the doors opened. She was amazed by how beautiful Rukia looked, how dignified she was as she walked down the aisle, looking every bit the Kuchiki princess that she was.

Rukia was perfect…

"_The perfect princess for the perfect king…"_ Orihime thought to herself, her depression at the situation fully enveloping her inner voice.

As Rukia's entourage passed her pew, Orihime realized something: not once during the whole wedding did she see Renji. She had figured out some time before that the red-haired and tattooed lieutenant of the 6th Squad had a crush on his childhood friend. She had thought that he was jealous of how close Ichigo and Rukia were, just like she had been.

"_Renji must have decided to stay away… just like I should have."_

Orihime could only imagine the pain that Renji was going through. It must have been too much to see his beloved be wed to someone else.

Finally, Rukia and her entourage reached the altar. The music continued playing for a moment, then stopped. To Orihime's confusion, Shinji didn't begin his speech as officiator.

"_Why isn't Shinji saying anything?"_ Orihime wondered, not noticing that Tatsuki was whispering to Rangiku, asking her if "this was some kind of Soul Reaper tradition," to which Rangiku answered negatively. A small flicker of hope arose in Orihime. _"Maybe Ichigo decided he didn't want to be married to Rukia after all!"_

And then that hope was snuffed out when she saw Ichigo and Rukia smile at each other.

Orihime's eyes widened and her lips started trembling. The smile that Ichigo and Rukia had on their faces was the kind that Orihime thought that lovers would have for each other.

"_That's it, then."_ Orihime thought, her inner voice filled with grief. _"All my dreams… are truly over."_

She turned her head towards the floor as she began to cry as quietly as she could.

"Well…" Orihime heard Shinji begin to speak, but she didn't turn her head up. "…we're a bit behind schedule, so let's get this out of the way. If anybody has a reason that these two not be wed, then speak now."

Many members of the audience began laughing at this, for a reason that Orihime couldn't fathom.

"_Why's everyone laughing? To object to two people in love being wed… there's nothing more selfish."_

In spite of this thought, Orihime stood up. She heard the laughter in the chapel begin to fade away, with more and more people noticing her action. Eventually, only Mashiro was laughing, and then even she stopped when Orihime heard her gasp in pain and yell "HEY!", and then became completely silent.

Orihime was in too much inner turmoil to hold inside anymore. She knew that she had no place to tell Ichigo she loved him now that he was marrying Rukia, but she couldn't bear to not tell him now.

Orihime kept telling herself, however, that if she confessed her love, then everyone she knew would hate her for objecting to Ichigo and Rukia's wedding. She could already see in her mind all her friends, their faces twisted with anger and disappointment in her for being so selfish. Several of them were scolding her for her actions: Tatsuki declaring that she wasn't her best friend anymore; Uryu and Chad with Nemu and Isane telling her that they couldn't believe she could be that selfish; Yuzu telling her to never come back to the Kurosaki household as Isshin and Karin glowered at her; Yachiru telling her that her actions were rude as Kenpachi called her pathetic and Unohana glared at her; and Shinji bitterly lamenting that his "first love" had "such poor character."

Then came the worst part. All the figures cleared away, except for Ichigo and Rukia. Ichigo was facing Orihime, his handsome face twisted into a cruel visage of hatred, and Rukia facing away from her, arms crossed over her chest.

"_Orihime…" _The vision of Ichigo said, his voice tainted with contempt. _"… Rukia and I never want to see you again."_

Orihime stopped crying as the visions completely cleared from her mind. She turned her head up to look at the altar and the people there. She heard some people gasp, and saw that those in her field of vision were startled, taken aback by her sorrowful expression.

Orihime focused on Ichigo, his handsome face holding none of the scorn that she saw in her vision; instead, he was confused by her actions.

Ichigo finally said, "Orihime…?" His voice sounded bewildered and concerned for her.

When he spoke, Orihime saw visions of the life she wanted to have: Her confession… his reciprocation… marriage… children… grandchildren… eternity. All the things she couldn't have now.

"Rukia…" She finally spoke, her voice devoid of all emotion except for the grief that slipped in. "…please forgive me."

Orihime didn't hear Rukia's reply. Her short, black-haired friend and almost everyone was gone from her narrowed vision. Only Ichigo remained, his questioning expression begging her for an answer.

"Ichigo…" Orihime felt her tears begin to fall down her face again. "… I love you."

TO BE RESOLVED

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Yes, I'm well aware that karate was recently rejected as an official Olympic sport. Let's just say that in the Bleach world, it was accepted a long time ago.<p>

And don't worry, folks! Things will get better!


	3. I Love You, Too

"…Or Forever Hold Your Peace" Chapter 3

The echoes of Orihime's confession rang throughout the chapel for a few seconds, then everything was quiet again. The young woman couldn't see or hear if anyone aside from Ichigo had reacted to her statement, her attention not wavering from her beloved. She saw his eyes widen and mouth open in shock.

Orihime didn't study his reaction for much longer, as she turned her head towards the floor again, and bowed slightly.

"Please forgive my rudeness, everyone." Orihime said, the grief in her tone rising. "I won't intrude on this happy day any longer." She paused, and then began again as her anguish completely filled her voice. "And I do truly wish the bride… and the g-groom… all the happiness in…"

Orihime couldn't say anymore, so she raised her head, then turned and walked out onto the aisle towards the entrance.

* * *

><p>In their own dimension, five of the Shun Shun Rikka were sitting together, their heads bowed in sorrow at their master's state. The only one that was apart from his compatriots was Tsubaki, angrily growling to himself.<p>

* * *

><p>Orihime had intended to run away as soon as she left her pew, but her agony had weighed her down, slowing her pace considerably.<p>

"_Any minute now…"_ She thought to herself, her tears falling more freely from her face. _"…they'll begin cursing me, telling me that I'm a horrible, selfish person…"_ She knew that she just ruined all of her relationships in one fell swoop.

Orihime was so wrapped up in her misery, in fact, that she didn't see Yuzu reach out towards her and cry, "Orihime, wait!"

She didn't see Isshin literally jump out of his seat and shout, "O-Orihime! Stop!"

She didn't see Uryu, Chad, Tatsuki, Rangiku and many others rise from their seats and cry out her name, surprise and concern written all over their faces.

But she did feel a certain spiritual pressure rush towards her, before its owner stopped behind her as he grabbed her right arm.

Orihime stopped, her eyes widening in shock and fear as she looked at the hand holding her arm.

"_His grip… it's so strong… he's furious!"_ She dreaded the thought that her beloved could be so mad at her.

As he turned her around to face him, Orihime said, "Ichigo, please, I'm sor-"

And she couldn't say anything more as he bowed his head and brought his lips to hers.

Orihime's eyes stretched themselves to their limit as her brain processed the realization that Ichigo was kissing her. Her arms twitched slightly from the shock, then stabilized as she wrapped them around his neck. Her eyes closed as she calmed from the sensation and she pulled herself closer to him. For his part, Ichigo wrapped his arms around her slender waist.

* * *

><p>The Shun Shun Rikka were cheering now, overjoyed that Orihime's affections had been returned. Even Tsubaki was happy at the turn of events.<p>

"That's right!" The spirit cheered. "That's right! You'd better not hurt Orihime again, Ichigo, or I'm going to kick your ass!"

* * *

><p>Ichigo and Orihime were in their own little world now, ignorant that the entire chapel had exploded into cheer. Many of their family, friends, and acquaintances were overjoyed that the pair had finally expressed their love for each other.<p>

Uryu adjusted his glasses as he said in a rather smug tone, "Well, it's about time." Chad nodded in agreement, smiling at their friends as Isane and Nemu clapped their hands, glad that Orihime had finally told Ichigo how she felt about him.

Tatsuki and Rangiku were cheering their congratulations at their friends, with Tatsuki thrusting her left arm in the air, and Rangiku jumping up and down, her famous bust threatening to burst free of her dress.

Isshin was dancing and laughing like a madman. After a few seconds, he stopped and pulled a picture of Masaki from his pocket. Crying tears of fatherly joy as he looked at the picture, he cheered at the visage of his beautiful wife, "Masaki! Our third daughter has finally and truly revealed herself!"

Yoruichi watched her friend ramble happily at the picture of his wife and shook her head in amusement, before she resumed cheering for her student and his girlfriend. Soi Fon was upset that she couldn't get Yoruichi to return her affections like that, but had begrudgingly accepted some time ago that her master didn't love her like that, and was happy for Orihime nonetheless. Urahara, meanwhile, was laughing heartily as he waved his fan; while he was also glad for the pair, he knew a good business deal when he saw one. Why, if there was a wedding, he could arrange some exclusive catering!

Shinji was shaking his head at the scene. "Such a shame." He said to himself. His grin returned to his face as he brought his hands together. "Oh well! There's a whole lot of fish in the sea!"

Yuzu was jumping up and down, squealing with delight. Next to her, Karin was wearing the widest grin she ever had on her face.

Hiyori shouted, "It's about damn time, you idiots!"

Right next to her, Mashiro was cheering, "Yay! Yay! Yay! Now Ichigo and Orihime will be having LOTS AND LOTS OF SEX TONIGHT!"

Kensei took a moment from his cheering to groan in frustration at his "super lieutenant", before feeling some remorse for the green-haired girl as Hiyori wrapped both her hands around Mashiro's throat.

"YOU PERVERT!" Hiyori shouted at her friend.

Ikumi began crying joyously again, grabbing her son in a tight hug. "Young love is so beautiful!" The eccentric shopkeeper said between tears. Kaoru pleaded with his mother to ease up, finding it difficult to breath. Fortunately, his mother heard him and slackened her arms slightly.

Ikkaku grinned widely and thrust his arm in the air, shouting, "Hell yeah, Ichigo!" The bald fighter was glad that his one-time opponent had gotten a girl like Orihime.

Yumichika, however, was disappointed by this turn of events. "Typical." He said, the beauty-obsessed member of the 11th Squad crossing his arms. "A goddess like her wanting to be with a thug like him. Why can't they ever want to be with men like me? It would make more sense, we'd be a beautifu-URGGHK!"

Ikkaku had put Yumichika in a headlock, irritated at his friend's rambling. He bellowed, "LOVE ISN'T ABOUT LOOKS OR "MAKING SENSE" YOU NARCISSISTIC PRICK!"

Yumichika wasn't the only one displeased with Ichigo and Orihime's revealed affections, sadly. Keigo and Chizuru stared at their friends in shock, before they began crying and wrapped their arms around each other for support.

"My life is over!" Keigo said through his tears.

"My precious Orihime is being molested by that _barbarian_…" Chizuru cried, the militant lesbian putting as much contempt as she could muster into the word "barbarian." "…AND THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT!"

The pair stopped crying when they felt pressure around their necks. Opening their eyes and looking in front of them, dread filled up their beings as they feared they had shortened their lives considerably as Tatsuki glared at them, her hands growing tighter around their throats. The karate champion was furious that anyone would be opposed to her best friends being together.

"What was that about a "barbarian", Chizuru?" Tatsuki asked, her tone low and dangerous.

The nobles that were with Byakuya were also displeased with what they considered the "impropriety" that Ichigo and Orihime were displaying.

"How dare that human harlot and that half-breed substitute interrupt Lady Rukia's wedding like that!" The female noble stated to the male one, who nodded in agreement.

They looked ready to stand up and protest what was happening-

"You will keep your opinions to yourselves."

The harshness in their clan head's voice caused the nobles to turn their attention to Byakuya, who was glaring murderously at them. They wisely decided to follow their leader's command, which by the tone in his voice, had also been a threat.

Having made sure the nobles wouldn't cause any more trouble, Byakuya turned his attention back to Ichigo and Orihime, smiling warmly at the scene.

"_Congratulations to both of you."_ The 6th Squad's captain thought to himself.

At the altar, Jinta scoffed at the scene. "She's too good for him." The red-haired employee of Urahara's shop said, looking away. Ururu smiled at her co-worker before she punched him in the face, knocking him out.

The cheers in the chapel were momentarily deafened by a loud cackling. Kenpachi had been observing Ichigo and Orihime's kiss with a neutral expression on his face before a thought occurred to him. He then began laughing with delight, causing many around him to be startled, with the exceptions of Ichigo, Orihime, Unohana, and Yachiru; his pint-sized lieutenant and unofficially-adopted daughter was undeterred by his loud laughter as she continued to jump up and down and cheer "Yay, Ichi! Yay, Boobies!"

Kenpachi, like most of the people in the chapel, was overjoyed that Ichigo and Orihime had returned each other's feelings… but for his own reasons.

Unohana watched her fellow captain laugh heartily for a short time until he started to calm down, whereupon she asked, "What has made you so happy, Captain Zaraki?"

Kenpachi grinned at the captain of the Soul Reapers' medical unit. "Isn't it obvious, Unohana?" Kenpachi asked. "If things go well and I'm lucky, I'll have another worthy opponent in less than twenty years!" His free eye bulged in its socket as his grin widened. "And if I'm REALLY lucky, I'll get one in less than ten! This is truly a happy day!" The psychopathic captain of Squad 11 laughed for a few more seconds after that.

Unohana raised one of her eyebrows at his statement. "Are you sure you can wait even ten years?" She asked.

Kenpachi turned his attention back to the new couple as he said, "You should know me better than that, Unohana." His free eye narrowed at Ichigo and Orihime before he continued, "I can be patient when I need to."

Unohana shook her head at Kenpachi before she resumed clapping, quietly wishing Ichigo and Orihime the best of luck.

The rest of the chapel also resumed cheering, before some of the audience began teasing the couple about how long they had been in their kiss. Ikkaku even jokingly shouted at Ichigo to let Orihime go before he "sucked her soul out".

Intentionally or not, Ichigo heeded Ikkaku's advice as he separated his lips from Orihime's, having noticed that she had begun to struggle to breath. He looked down into her grey eyes, his own brown eyes filled with love for her.

"I've waited years to hear you say that." The Substitute Soul Reaper said to the healer.

Orihime's eyes widened at his words as a smile stretched across her face. She could see the future she wanted again; but this time, she knew she was going to have it.

But a thought occurred to her.

Confusion spread across Orihime's face. "But Ichigo, why-"

"Yeah, Orihime." The healer heard Rukia say. Ichigo turned, giving Orihime the ability to see their friend, who had been behind him for a few seconds. Orihime had expected Rukia to be furious at her for ruining the wedding, but here she was, smirking playfully at her. "It's about time."

Before Orihime could say anything, Rukia added, "By the way, I hope you weren't apologizing because you thought I was getting married to this idiot." She grinned, nodding her head towards Ichigo. His indignant 'Hey!' went unnoticed by everyone.

Now Orihime was more confused than ever. "B-But your letter!" She blurted. "You said-"

"Seriously, Orihime." Rukia interrupted, grinning at her friend. "Every 'him' who is referred to as "handsome" doesn't automatically refer to Ichigo."

Rukia's knowing grin was starting to scare Orihime. She turned her head right and left and saw that Tatsuki, Rangiku, Yoruichi, Lisa, and Hiyori had similar expressions on their faces; Hiyori had also closed her eyes and started shaking her head, chuckling as she did so.

Orihime blushed, embarrassed by all the attention that was on her. She turned her attention back to Rukia.

"B-But…"

"AGGGHHHHH!"

A sharp scream drew everyone's attention to the Vizard women's pew. While Hiyori wasn't paying attention, Mashiro had wriggled free enough of the headlock that her friend had put her in. Taking the opportunity, the green-haired, eccentric Vizard had bit Hiyori's right wrist _hard_ in reprisal for trying to strangle her.

Hiyori let go of Mashiro as she grabbed her injured wrist. She then turned her attention back to Mashiro as the sclera in her eyes turned pitch black and her irises turned yellow. She snarled, "I'M GOING TO BEAT YOU TO DEATH WITH YOUR OWN SPINE!"

Hiyori jumped on Mashiro as both Vizards activated their Hollow masks. Their fight was turning nasty by the time everyone in the three pews surrounding them decided it was best to get away as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, Kensei and Love didn't get away fast enough; the poor men were unintentionally savaged by Hiyori and Mashiro as they tried to beat each other up. They survived though, but were in a lot of pain by the time they managed to crawl away with Rose and Lisa's help.

Turning her attention away from the spectacle, Orihime continued what she had tried to say before to Rukia, "But if you both aren't getting married, then-"

"Yo!" A deep voice from behind her interrupted. She turned around, and right there was none other than Renji Abarai, observing Hiyori and Mashiro's catfight with amusement. Turning his attention to Ichigo and Orihime, he continued, "What'd I miss?"

Before Orihime could answer, she felt herself being lifted up and turned her head to look at Ichigo. She was confused by the fearful expression he had on his face as he stepped off to the side, carrying Orihime with him.

"Ichigo, what-"

"Orihime…" Ichigo whispered to her. "…it might be a good idea for us to get out of the way" He had his attention on Rukia as he was whispering.

Orihime turned her head towards Rukia, and very soon had the same expression that Ichigo had.

_Now_ Rukia was furious, her corneas narrowed into small beads as she gritted her teeth and had her hands clenched into fists. She was breathing short, harsh breaths, her attention not deviating from Renji.

Renji himself saw the state Rukia was in, and paled in fear. "Rukia…" He said, holding his hands up. "…R-Rukia, wait! RUKIA, WAIT! I CAN EXPLAIN-!"

His pleading got him nowhere, and the next few minutes were filled with the sounds of a certain someone getting hit. Badly.

"RENJI, YOU IDIOT!" Rukia bellowed as she stomped her foot down on a now-prone Renji's stomach. "HOW CAN YOU BE LATE TO YOUR OWN WEDDING?!"

The entire chapel erupted with laughter. Even Hiyori and Mashiro ended their feud to laugh at Renji's misfortune.

Orihime mouth was wide open in shock. Her attention was still on Renji's beating when she felt Ichigo wrap his arms around her. Looking back at her beloved, she saw him smile at her.

He whispered, "So glad you were here when Shinji said speak now…"

Orihime smiled back, tears in her eyes.

"Hey, Orihime!"

The orange-haired beauty turned her attention back to Rukia. The petite lieutenant was apparently finished beating Renji; from what Orihime could see, Rukia had beat him pretty badly, to the point that he was groaning in pain. Fortunately, it wasn't anything that Unohana or Orihime herself couldn't fix up quickly.

"I still need a maid of honor." Rukia said, smiling warmly at her friend.

It seemed it would be a perfect day for a perfect wedding after all.

THE END


End file.
